“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” - George W. Bush

Monday, November 25, 2013

President Obama does not need any advice from the Israeli Prime Minister

...”Echoed by his crazy extremist Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman – "All the options are on the table!" – the Israeli Prime Minister is clearly threatening to attack Iran. Too bad we can’t count on President Obama to take Zbigniew Brzezinski’s advice and shoot down the Israeli planes as they wing their way through Iraqi airspace toward Tehran.”...

The news that the P5 + 1 and the Iranians have reached an interim agreement limiting Tehran’s nuclear program sent a chill down my spine.

That may seem like a counterintuitive reaction: after all, wouldn’t a shout of joy be more appropriate? Finally, after decades of a very tense adversarial relationship – which more than once threatened to escalate into open conflict – Washington and Tehran have managed to bridge an enormous gap, and war has been averted in the Middle East, albeit temporarily.

What’s not to like?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has found plenty he doesn’t like, and the signals he and his government are sending must be taken seriously. For just one example, here’s what Naftali Bennett, the economics minister and member of the extremist "Homeland" party, had to say about the agreement:

"If five years from now a nuclear suitcase explodes in New York or Madrid, it will be because of the deal that was signed this morning."

What’s interesting about this prepared statement – it wasn’t just an off the cuff remark – is that Bennett doesn’t say who would be responsible for that nuclear suitcase. I mean, can we assume he means the Iranians will do it – or is he threatening the US with the specter of Israeli retaliation? Given the anger level in Tel Aviv right now, I think that’s a fair question.

Everything about the Israeli response to the agreement implies a threat of some kind. Says Bibi:

"Israel is not bound by this agreement. As prime minister of Israel, I would like to make it clear: Israel will not allow Iran to develop a military nuclear capability."

Echoed by his crazy extremist Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman – "All the options are on the table!" – the Israeli Prime Minister is clearly threatening to attack Iran. Too bad we can’t count on President Obama to take Zbigniew Brzezinski’s advice and shoot down the Israeli planes as they wing their way through Iraqi airspace toward Tehran.

An Israeli attack on Iran, however, would be Bibi’s last resort: the Israelis are good at agitating for other nations to go to war on their behalf, but when it comes to actually doing the fighting themselves – and losing some of their own people – their enthusiasm tends to cool down a bit. Before they attack Iran, the Israelis will do everything in their power to derail the agreement – and no one should underestimate what they’re capable of.

Their first line of attack is through Congress, where the Israel lobby holds a dominant position. Even before the agreement was signed, the lobby’s congressional contingent was already being lined up to introduce new sanctions on Iran. Prominent Democrats, including Majority leader Harry Reid, New York’s Chuck Schumer, and Bob Menendez of New Jersey have already endorsed the new sanctions bill, and the usual Republican suspects are already denouncing the agreement as "another Munich."

The second line of attack is a possible provocation engineered by the Israelis: this could involve an incident between the US and Iran in international waters in the Gulf, as has happened before, or it could be a simple exposure of an alleged Iranian violation of the terms of the interim agreement. This latter course could be carried out by Israel’s regional allies, including the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK), a neo-Marxist cult that has long been an instrument in Israeli hands and has a history of pushing disinformation about Iran’s alleged nuclear activities. Nor should we rule out Israeli collaboration with hardliner elements within Iran: although they are ostensibly in irreconcilable opposition, both Israeli and Iranian hardliners are united in their opposition to a nuclear deal.

The third line of attack would be direct Israeli action against the US – no, not military action (don’t be silly), but some kind of covert action that would inflict enough damage to impact our ability to make the interim agreement permanent.

This isn’t pure speculation: in 1954, the Israelis recruited a group of Egyptians to plant bombs in Western targets, including the American information center, in major Egyptian cities. The idea was to blame the attacks on Islamists and Nasserites, and cause the British government to keep its troops in the Suez Canal zone. The plan failed, but only because the Israeli scheme was exposed: after years of denying the affair, the Israeli government finally owned up to it by awarding their agents medals of appreciation, bestowed on the surviving spies by President Moshe Katzav in 2005.

For years the Israelis have been saying their country faces an "existential" crisis on account of Iran’s nuclear program: another Holocaust, they have said, is imminent unless the Iranians are stopped. And Tehran, they aver, is intent on breaking any agreement they make with the West: the Iranians are determined to acquire nuclear weapons, and will stop at nothing in their drive to destroy Israel.

It doesn’t matter what the Israelis really believe: that they are saying this means we should take them at their word – and not underestimate their capabilities. Do I really have to remind my readers of this Carl Cameron story, run in four parts on Fox News in December of 2001, in which Cameron declared:

"Since September 11, more than 60 Israelis have been arrested or detained, either under the new patriot anti-terrorism law, or for immigration violations. A handful of active Israeli military were among those detained, according to investigators, who say some of the detainees also failed polygraph questions when asked about alleged surveillance activities against and in the United States.

"There is no indication that the Israelis were involved in the 9-11 attacks, but investigators suspect that they Israelis may have gathered intelligence about the attacks in advance, and not shared it. A highly placed investigator said there are ‘tie-ins.’ But when asked for details, he flatly refused to describe them, saying, ‘evidence linking these Israelis to 9-11 is classified. I cannot tell you about evidence that has been gathered. It’s classified information.’”

America has never been in greater danger than it is now. The battle between the US and Israel has always been fought on a covert level, but recently this hidden conflict has been coming closer to the surface – and is now about ready to erupt aboveground. If the President hasn’t put America’s defenses on a state of high alert, then he isn’t doing his duty to defend the country.

We have reached a moment of great promise – the promise of peace in the Middle East – and of great danger. Let us pray that the latter is bypassed and the former is fulfilled.

NOTES IN THE MARGIN

We are entering a very difficult and potentially perilous period: the President is trying to take US foreign policy in a different direction, but he’s running into huge obstacles not the least of which is Israel’s powerful lobby in the US. I’m not exaggerating, not even a little bit, when I say that anything could happen in the next few months – yes, anything – and warning my readers to prepare themselves for the worst and the best.

The worst – the collapse of the peace negotiations with Tehran and the prospect of war with Iran. The best – the President manages to get over the obstacles put in his path by the Israel lobby and get a finalized agreement.

You can bet the Israel lobby will be working overtime to derail the peace process, with a propaganda campaign unsurpassed by any we’ve seen before. That’s why Antiwar.com is more necessary than ever – and that’s why it’s vitally important that you give our fundraising campaign a boost. Because it sure as heck needs it.

Yes, our fundraising campaign is still ongoing – and, at this rate, it looks like it’ll be ongoing through the entire next month. That is, unless my readers step up to the plate and start to donate.

Since 1995, we’ve been bringing you the real story about US foreign policy and how it gets made – a truly ugly story that the "mainstream" media doesn’t dare reveal for fear of infuriating their government minders. But we can’t continue to tell that very important story without your financial support. Because we aren’t answerable to any corporate entity, or eccentric billionaire with an agenda, we are free to speak truth to power – and we’ve never hesitated to do just that. Please help us maintain our independence and keep the best foreign policy news site going: make your tax-deductible contribution today.

MORE NOTES IN THE MARGIN

You can check out my Twitter feed by going here. But please note that my tweets are sometimes deliberately provocative, often made in jest, and largely consist of me thinking out loud.

153 comments:

Ezra Klein: You spend your days trying to rid the world of nuclear weapons. So is today a good day for you? A bad one?

Joe Cirincione: I opened up a bottle of champagne when I heard the news. This is huge. I was at an international security conference in Halifax when the news broke and there were dozens of us celebrating. Rightly or wrongly, Iran is seen as the most serious nuclear threat in the world. Anything you can do to reduce that threat is a major step forward.

EK: Does this actually reduce the threat they pose? Certainly Israel doesn’t seem to think so.

JC: This addresses the major threat that Prime Minister Netanyahu warned the world about in September 2012. He went to the dais of the U.N. General Assembly and he held up a cartoon drawing of a bomb and drew a red line across the top. He warned the world that Iran would soon have enough uranium enriched to 20 percent and that they could quickly, in weeks or months, make a bomb.

His concerns were well-founded. Iran now has about 190 kilograms of this enriched uranium. If they got to 240 kilograms, they'd be very close to a bomb. This deal drains the uranium from Mr. Netanyahu’s bomb. It drains the amount of 20 percent enriched uranium [Iran has]. It makes it much less likely Iran could break out and make a bomb. And it goes further: It stops the manufacturing of new centrifuges. It changes the inspection regime from weekly to daily. If Iran wanted to do anything suspicious, there’s a high probability we'd know about it and could act instantly to stop them.

EK: What’s the counterfactual here? Imagine this deal wasn’t struck and things simply kept on trend. Where would this issue be going?

JC: If Iran hadn’t paused, in a matter of months they would cross Israel’s red line. In perhaps a year they could’ve constructed a crude nuclear device. In another year, they could construct a warhead to put on a missile. While we might think we had two years or so to act, Israel doesn’t look at it that way. They wanted to kill the nuclear baby in the crib. So the alternative to this deal was war.

We shouldn’t kid ourselves. There’s no sanction regime known to man that’s been able to coerce a country into compliance. So if you don't like negotiating with Iran, what you're really saying is you want to go to war. We should be clear-eyed about this. We shouldn’t think there’s some better deal out there.

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EK: Israel and some other skeptics argue that diluting the uranium doesn’t mean much because Iran can quickly enrich it again.

JC: Not clear. There’s a lot of doubt that Iran has the capability to convert uranium oxide back to uranium gas. In any event, if they did it we would see it. That’s the benefit of the daily inspections.

EK: Are you confident those inspections have full visibility into the program?

JC: The core part of the inspections is measuring what goes in and what goes out. All the information we have around Iran’s stockpile comes from these IAEA inspections. This is what they do. It’s a lot like accounting. And you can have a pretty high confidence that we know what’s going on at the facilities. The uncertainty is around the question of secret facilities. This arrangement doesn’t help with that. But this is the first phase. In a final agreement, Iran is open to a much tougher inspections regime that allows inspectors to go anywhere at anytime and see anything.

EK: Are you optimistic that we'll get to a final deal after this pause?

JC: This deal doubles Iran’s breakout time to a nuclear weapon and makes it much more likely that we would see them doing it. It also freezes the program in place. And while we're watching them they can't substantially enhance their capabilities. So we don't lose anything in this deal. And all we’ve given up is a small amount of Iran’s money that we had frozen. The estimates are that they'll receive $7-$10 billion in relief. But they have more than $100 billion still frozen abroad. And all the sanctions on their oil trade and their financial system and their banking still apply. If Iran wants to get back to selling two million barrels of oil a day, they need to finish the final deal and satisfy us that they're giving up their weapon options here.

EK: One argument that Jeffrey Goldberg makes is that another objective of this deal was stopping Israel from making any sudden moves. Now that there’s a deal in place, Israel can’t simply blow up the international community’s negotiations and launch an attack. Do you agree?

JC: I think it’s almost impossible for Israel to launch a military strike on Iran right now. They're isolated. The prime minister is issuing some very tough statements but as far as I can see, he’s the only world leader issuing them. Even Saudi Arabia, which has serious qualms about the deal, is issuing positive statements at the start.

EK: To zoom out, a few months ago a deal was struck to begin breaking down Syria’s chemical weapon capabilities. Now there’s the beginning of a process to potentially end Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. It seems like an unusually good time for anti-proliferation efforts.

JC: It pays to be a pessimist in national security. You get rewarded for painting worst-case scenarios. But every once in awhile you have to evaluate the facts on the ground. And the facts right now are breaking in America’s favor. In the last few months Secretary of State John Kerry has crafted agreements to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal. Now there’s an agreement that might eliminate Iran’s nuclear weapon. This looked impossible several months ago.

The significance of all this goes beyond just weapons. One level, of course, is we're reducing major threats that could have killed hundreds of thousands of people. Second, it is being crafted in partnership with countries like Russia, which is creating a better dialogue and working relationship with them. Third, if there’s a rapprochement with Iran, it could pay much bigger dividends in the Middle East, including stabilizing Afghanistan and ending the civil war in Syria. It won't make us BFFs with Iran, but perhaps, as President Rouhani says, we could manage our differences in much the same way that Nixon managed our differences with China.

An unusual three page “memo” released by AIPAC on Monday afternoon criticizes the recently-signed interim agreement signed by the P5+1 countries with Iran on Sunday – but does not reject it outright. It calls on Congress to pass legislation that would “increase the pressure on Iran and ensure that any future deal denies Tehran a nuclear weapons capability.”

...

The paper also notes that the p5+1 agreement raises concerns that Iran will “will be able to resume nuclear-weapons related activities at will,” even after a final deal is signed.

The paper ends with a list of Congressional leaders, from both parties, who have criticized the interim deal and who are now calling for additional sanctions to be applied.

This isn’t pure speculation: in 1954, the Israelis recruited a group of Egyptians to plant bombs in Western targets, including the American information center, in major Egyptian cities. The idea was to blame the attacks on Islamists and Nasserites, and cause the British government to keep its troops in the Suez Canal zone. The plan failed, but only because the Israeli scheme was exposed: after years of denying the affair, the Israeli government finally owned up to it by awarding their agents medals of appreciation, bestowed on the surviving spies by President Moshe Katzav in 2005.

In reading this, I see no end notes or footnotes. Going to the highlighted sections only leads to someone else's uncorroborated opinion. Is there any documentation of an official nature? Say, a Congressional investigation, a board of inquiry, a court case? If not, this is just another series of conspiracy theories. At least with the USS Liberty, there are thousands of pages of documentation. I know because I have surveyed those documents. Indeed, on two occasions I linked them on this blog.

The move was publicised in a statement from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, the Associated Press reported. Students will receive scholarships to "engage international audiences online" and combat anti-Semitism and calls to boycott Israel, it was alleged.

In 2012, a Palestinian-run blog reported similar arrangements between the National Union of Israeli Students and the Israeli government. Students would be paid $2,000 to post pro-Israel messages online for five hours a week.

According to Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz, the most recent proposition is being spearheaded by Danny Seaman, who was slammed by the media for writing anti-Muslim messages on Facebook.

Students will be organised into units at each university, with a chief co-ordinator who receives a full scholarship, three desk co-ordinators for language, graphics and research who receive lesser scholarships and students termed “activists” who will receive a “minimal scholarship”, the Independent reported.

This is standard operating procedure for hasbara, and welcome to it, in the grand tradition of the Hellenes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_diplomacy_(Israel)

As the Ptolemies weakened, Palestine gradually fell under the rule of the Selucid Dynasty. At this time many Jews began to adopt the ways of the Greek gentiles who dominated them. They tried to covered the marks of their circumcision, and built gymnasiums, and no longer observed the ordinances of the Mosaic Law. With some support of these secularized Jews, Antiochus IV Ephiphanes declared Judaism abolished, and dedicated the temple in Jerusalem to Zeus. Many of the Jews were ready and willing to abandon their old religion and accept the doctrines of the Syro-Macedonian king. The priest Mattathias began a set of terrorist acts to deter Hellenized Jews from sacrificing to Zeus. Jews who were caught breaking the 613 precepts of the Law were killed, and boys were forcibly circumcised.

Anonymous Mon Nov 25, 07:54:00 PM EST"What is a Semite?" is just a bullshitter.

It is a word first seen in Hebrew within the eponymous scroll, Obadiah. Literally, it means "far away". It came to mean to Jews, "Spain". Sephardic Jews, then, are those Jews who peopled the Iberian Peninsula. There is little doubt that they were in Spain trading and colonizing long before the Romans, although authorities differ. OBADIAH is found among the Dead Sea Scrolls (300-200 BCE).It is very likely that the vanguard to Spain was from the tribe of Dan, the seafarers and traders of Jewish tradition. ,

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, with only 21 verses. The prophet may not have actually been named Obadiah. That word means "Servant of God" and in Arabic the same title is Abdullah. A tradition in the Talmud is that Obadiah was a convert to Judaism from the Edomites, so it is poignant that he chose to direct his invective against his native people.

You are a phony, who simply cuts and pastes the foolishness of others, thoughtlessly, or makes it up as he goes along. There are many just like you. This will be my last communication with this pathetic avatar. "Grass will grow from your jaw before you see that day."

• Four million Palestinians in the Occupied Territories lack the right to vote for the government that controls their lives through a military occupation.

In addition to controlling the borders, air space, water, tax revenues, and other vital matters pertaining to the Occupied Territories, Israel alone issues the identity cards that determine the ability of Palestinians to work and their freedom of movement.

• About 1.2 million Palestinian Israelis, who make up 20 percent, or one-fifth, of Israel’s population, have second-class citizenship within Israel, ... ... which defines itself as a Jewish state rather than a state for all its citizens.

More than 20 provisions of Israel’s principal laws discriminate, either directly or indirectly, against non-Jews, according to Adalah: The Legal Center for Minority Rights in Israel.

Millions of Palestinians remain refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and elsewhere, unable to return to their former homes ...... and land in present-day Israel.

Even though the right of return for refugees is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Seventeen magazine was a good choice. True Detective was barely legal sadistic porn, filled with "sexy" damsels in distress, who were invariably raped, tortured, mutilated, etc etc etc. I don't know how the publishers got away with it in the '50s.

Maybe Iran will use their 20% U-235 for medical purposes, just refine to 3.5% for the rest, for power, and even lean on Assad to assent to a peaceful re-org of Syria between the Kurds, Alawites, and Sunnis. Me, I don't have a dog in the hunt, I don't care if the Alawites or Shi'ites or Sunnis or Yahwists or Elohists are large and in charge, as long as I don't have to hear about it on the news anymore.

Israel is going to have its way by other means, something with which we are familiar. There will be no heroic attack on Iran, if for no other reason than Mr. Obama's shielding Iran with the USAF 24/7. The word is no attack can happen without his being notified first. Score one for the Iranians.Israel would never provoke hostilities with the US. But if Israel had to defend itself in its own neighborhood, Mr. Obama would be hamstrung. The Congress and the American public would not tolerate his usual clumsy mishandling of foreign policy with Israel involved. Mr. Netanyahu should NOT send a delegation to the US next week to lobby and complain. There are secure methods of communicating with Congress and Christians.

There are several possibilities with or without the Saudi & Co. I wish the Saudis were of a mind to shut off petroleum to China and the EU for a month. You may be sure they would come begging, knees bent (their best position) and hat in hand. China might fair better, given Mr. Putin's desire to improve that relationship.

At some point, Assad or his Iranian allies will make a blunder. Then, we will discover if Mr. Netanyahu's metal is of better stuff than that of Mr. Olmert.

It amazes me to read that Iran is just sitting passively as the ME burns. What that means for the hard of hearing: THERE IS A WAR RAGING ACROSS NORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST. Iran is playing the role of Hitler during the Spanish Civil War.

Blood and destruction shall be so in useAnd dreadful objects so familiarThat mothers shall but smile when they beholdTheir infants quarter'd with the hands of war;All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:..Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;...With carrion men, groaning for burial.

Believe it or not, I heard a lady on CNN that I believe it named Sandy Crowly or some shit like that--say that unless Iran is willing surrender the 19,000 centrifuges to the U.N., that the interim agreement means nothing. I was shocked to hear that sort of information on CNN. They have been saying the same sort of thing on Fox News for the last several months. Maybe Deuce's Conga Line is getting to them.

It is the Saudi and there Hegmonic partners in North America and Europe that are playing the role of Hitler in the Spanish Civil War.

In Libya, Yemen and Syria.

You forget that Franco was the revolutionary, and that is who the US, Saudi and Israel are supporting, in Libya and Syria the revolutionaries, not the existing governments. Just as Hitler did, in Spain.Who supplied the weapons to the revolutionaries, Hitler in Spain and the US in Libya and the US & Saudi Arabians in Syria

Your perspective is 180 degrees off.You are attempting to make propaganda points, dragging in Hitler, rather than historical references that can hold up to even casual inspection. Comical, right out of page four of the AIPAC handbook.

The Iranians, they are in the role of Soviets,in SyriaStalin and the Soviets, they played a minor role in the Spanish conflict.

The Saudi-Israeli Axis has been the main motivator of US policies in that region.Supporting turmoil and destabilization across the Arc.

Franco was the revolutionary, and lead a revolutionary movement of big landowners, the Catholic Church of the time, the industrialists, the Royalists and the army against the reactionaries made up of the socialists, the republicans, the commies, the anarcho/syndicalists and the rabble.

Franco saw the country descending into chaos and acted. Wasn't quite legal perhaps. Or, maybe it was, depending on which authority one reads.

And how you correspond that unique situation to the current middle east is quite beyond the capacity of sane men and women.

His comparison of Iran and Germany, and the conflicts in North Africa and the Middle East. to the Spanish Civil War.

The comparison fails immediately upon inspection.

Franco was the revolutionary, for cause or not, matters not at all. He was supported by Hitler.The revolutionaries across North Africa and in Syria are not supported by Iran, they are supported by the US, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

allen made the comparison, it is faulty to the point of being fraudulent.

The Lavon Affair: How a false-flag operation led to war and the Israeli bomb

Leonard Weiss

The Lavon Affair, a failed Israeli covert operation directed against Egypt in 1954, triggered a chain of events that have had profound consequences for power relationships in the Middle East;the affair’s effects still reverberate today.

Those events included a public trial and conviction of eight Egyptian Jews who carried out the covert operation, two of whom were subsequently executed; a retaliatory military incursion by Israel into Gaza that killed 39 Egyptians; a subsequent Egyptian–Soviet arms deal that angered American and British leaders, who then withdrew previously pledged support for the building of the Aswan Dam; the announced nationalization of the Suez Canal by Nasser in retaliation for the withdrawn support; and the subsequent failed invasion of Egypt by Israel, France, and Britain in an attempt to topple Nasser.

In the wake of that failed invasion, France expanded and accelerated its ongoing nuclear cooperation with Israel, which eventually enabled the Jewish state to build nuclear weapons.

Israel is going to have its way by other means, something with which we are familiar.

I am unprepared to make any comment on the "Lavon Affair", other than what I have said. As to means and methods, US intelligence agencies must have that under control; after all, Israel was named one of the top three most aggressive spy operations in the US according an NSA statement several months ago. We must have been closely monitored. Israel hopes, no doubt, the monitoring was of the same quality as the IT efforts on ObamaCare?;

I have great interest in the "Lavon Affair", for personal reasons if nothing else. However, I am quite strict with "historical" publications. If I want a fantasy, I'll buy a novel. With history, I will not accept as serious mere hearsay from guys long dead, who left no tangible record. There should be as many official records as possible. If other than official records are used, say a diary, I will require its authentication etc etc etc. With all this in mind, I will give the subject my undivided attention and pursue leads of my own. Finally, a preponderance of evidence will hold great store with me. I have no fear of truth, even if it is against the home team. My loyalty will be for the truth.

Demonstrators denounce Zionism, saying it "has nothing to do with Judaism."

Iranian Jews gathered in front of the United Nations office in Tehran on Tuesday to express their support for Iran's "right to enrich," a day before the Islamic Republic and other world powers are set to meet in Geneva to resume nuclear talks.

Demonstrators held the Torah and banners with statements in English, Hebrew and Farsi in support of Iran's nuclear negotiators, and performed mass religious ceremonies, Iranian PressTV reported

“We, the Iranian Jews, announce our full support for Iran’s negotiating team in the talks with the P5+1 and advise the other party to seize this opportunity,” a statement issued by the Jewish community in Iran read.

The statement added that the Iranian Jews "insist on standing by their Muslim brothers in defending the right to use peaceful nuclear energy for scientific and economic progress of Iran."

The statement also included a denouncement of Zionism, saying that it "has nothing to do with Judaism."

In rare public display, Iranian Jews rally in support of nation's nuclear programIranian Jewish community, the largest in the region outside Israel and Turkey, tends to keep a low profile.By The Associated Press

The groups that can be referred to as Al-Qaeda in Iraq are set on turning Iraq into a failed state by working to implement a wave of terror and violence in Baghdad and across Iraq as a means of making the Iraqi government collapse.

These terrorist attacks are actually tied to the regime change agendas of the US, UK, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey in Syria.

The terrorist groups in Iraq have also crossed the border into Syria to join the insurgency there and form what they call the «Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant». They run a twin strategy in Iraq and Syria.

Iraq has devolved into three sections. The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq is virtually independent while countries like Saudi Arabia and Turkey are taking advantage of the feeling of disenfranchisement among the Sunni Arabs.

Outside powers are doing nothing short of stoking division among Shias and Sunnis and between Arabs and Kurds in Iraq, just as they are pushing for communal division in Syria.

This is what Oden Yinon had to declare about Iraq: «Every kind of inter-Arab confrontation will assist us in the short run and will shorten the way to the more important aim of breaking up Iraq into denominations as in Syria and in Lebanon. In Iraq, a division into provinces along ethnic/religious lines as in Syria during Ottoman times is possible. So, three (or more) states will exist around the three major cities: Basra, Baghdad and Mosul, and Shiite areas in the south will separate from the Sunni and Kurdish north».

Syria is bloodletting even more than Iraq.

Israeli and American analysts, experts, and policymakers keep insisting that the country will fall apart. The foreign-sponsored anti-government forces are killing civilians on the basis of their community affiliations as a means of spreading sedition and hate.

Harking back to Israel’s Yinon Plan, it states: «The dissolution of Syria and Iraq later on into ethnically or religiously unqiue areas such as in Lebanon, is Israel’s primary target on the Eastern front in the long run, while the dissolution of the military power of those states serves as the primary short term target.

Syria will fall apart, in accordance with its ethnic and religious structure, into several states such as in present day Lebanon, so that there will be a Shiite Alawi state along its coast, a Sunni state in the Aleppo area, another Sunni state in Damascus hostile to its northern neighbor, and the Druzes who will set up a state, maybe even in our Golan, and certainly in the Hauran and in northern Jordan».

Under the agreement, Iran must halt this higher-grade enrichment and also dilute or convert its existing reserve of such uranium to a form that is not suitable for further enrichment, according to a US fact sheet.

Once this is done, the breakout time - how long it would take Iran to produce sufficient highly-enriched uranium for one atomic bomb - would lengthen from at least 1-1.6 months to at least 1.9-2.2 months if the Iranians used all their installed centrifuges, Albright said in an e-mail.

"This may seem a small increase, but with the IAEA daily checking the camera film at Natanz and Fordow, this increase in breakout times would be significant," he said, referring to the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iran has committed to grant IAEA inspectors daily access to its underground enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow, its most controversial nuclear sites, the US fact sheet said.

"This access will provide even greater transparency into enrichment at these sites and shorten detection time for any non-compliance," it said.

The UN watchdog, tasked with ensuring that no nuclear material is diverted for military purposes in member states, is currently believed to visit these plants about once a week.

"This agreement virtually eliminates the possibility of Iran dashing towards a nuclear weapon without prompt detection by the UN nuclear inspectors," said Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group think-tank.

What is to keep the North Koreans from doing the job. They have been very helpful to Iran. Moreover, we have no firm grasp on the number of sites the Iranians are using.

This is going to end as did the North Korean fiasco. What we are watching unfold is a highly stylized minuet. It is for public consumption.

It intrigues me that sites like this have flayed Mr. Obama for a series of inexcusable blunders, beginning with Benghazi. Suddenly, all is forgotten and forgiven because he has poked Mr. Netanyahu in the snout with a document no one has yet seen in the entirety. Let me remind: Mr. Obama's announcement Sunday was by way of a memo. A finished agreement until all participant have a copy in the vernacular for review and revision. What fickle creatures we are, taking the word of a phony war hero and,a serial liar and cheat, if this site's history of postings and comments may be taken seriously.

Not all here thought that Benghazi was worthy of flaying Mr Obama.He fired General P, then put his own man in, at the CIA.

That was a positive. General P screwed the pooch, in Benghazi.

There are many that do not thnk Mr Obama has made a series of inexcusable blunders. Instead that he has, successfully, ... . . . . . . "Stayed the Course" . . . . . .

That the US exit from Iraq was well planned, on schedule.That the prospective 'failure' of the security 'Deal' in Afghanistan can still get US totally out in 2014.That taking down Colonel Q, in Libya, was done most effectively, with no loss of US lives.

No you are editorializing and projecting ...Then as a past Dictator said ...

What we wish, we readily believe, and what we ourselves think, we imagine others think also.Julius Caesar

CAIRO — The Libyan government declared a state of emergency in the country's eastern port city of Benghazi Monday after heavy clashes between the Libyan army and members of an Islamist group believed to be behind last year's attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission. At least seven soldiers were reported killed and more than 39 people wounded.

Heavy artillery and rocket fire shook parts of Benghazi Monday as Islamist militiamen continued to battle an army brigade loyal to the government. Libyan government television showed civilian victims of the fighting at a Benghazi hospital being treated for gunshot and shrapnel wounds.

Fighting has been going on since late Sunday between government forces and fighters from Ansar al-Sharia, whose members stand accused by U.S. authorities of having participated in the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate that led to the deaths of four Americans including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stephens.

Militiamen attacked an army patrol near a mosque in the central Birqa district of the city. A number of government soldiers were killed in the attack.

Incoming Interior Minister Sabri Abdel Karim told a press conference in the capital, Tripoli, that the government is demanding militiamen leave Benghazi and that the Libyan Army and police hope to assume control of the city.

He said the fighting in Benghazi demonstrates the need to enforce a government decree requiring all armed militias to withdraw from the city and hand over control to the police and army. He said the armed forces must be allowed to fulfill their legal role and impose order.

Tunisia has been facing a growing crisis. There have been clashes between Tunisian security forces and militant groups near the Algerian border. Two opposition politicians, Chokri Belaid and Mohammed Brahmi of the People’s Movement Party, have been murdered. There have been increasing protests that include demands by Tunisian opposition parties and unionists that the Ennahda Movement government of Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh be dissolved.

Next door Libya is in even worse and used to smuggle weapons into Tunisia and the other surrounding countries. There have been clashes and strikes at its oil terminals and the country is effectively divided. The Libyan government has little control of the country. The real control is in the arms of the militias in the streets. Tensions are also escalating with the fears that the militias from Misrata may make a power play for control of even larger chunks of the country and confront Zintan.

Observers have warned that Sudan, which was divided into two parts in 2011, could face even more violence as tribal conflicts intensify and the government in Khartoum loses control over them. Although South Sudan has become a neoliberal paradise for investors to exploit its wealth and people, it has been plagued by lawlessness, ethnic tensions, and violence. A lesson is to be learned here. South Sudan was a far better and more peaceful place when it was a part of Sudan.

Now reports are emerging that there has been a merger of two armed groups in North Africa. Mokhtar Belmoktar, the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, has announced a new collation with the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO). These groups have been active in places like Algeria and Mali and provided the perfect excuse for external powers to intervene in North Africa. Now they declaring that they plan on getting involved in Egypt in a new war that will rage on from North Africa’s Atlantic coastline to the Nile Delta.

Bloodbath in Egypt

The Arab Republic of Egypt, the largest of the Arab countries, is going down the path of Algeria. The military is determined to keep its power. Egypt has also been central in keeping the Arabs paralyzed in Israel’s designs. Yinon’s averred thus about Egypt:

«Egypt is divided and torn apart into many foci of authority. If Egypt falls apart, countries like Libya, Sudan or even the more distant states will not continue to exist in their present form and will join the downfall and dissolution of Egypt».

The Yinon Plan says two important things about Egypt. The first is thus:

«Millions are on the verge of hunger, half the labour force is unemployed, and housing is scarce in this most densely populated area of the world. Except for the military, there is not a single department operating efficiently and the state is in a permanent state of bankruptcy and depends entirely on American foreign assistance granted since the peace.»

The second is this: «Without foreign assistance the crisis will come tomorrow.»

“I am not one of those weak-spirited, sappy Americans who want to be liked by all the people around them. I don’t care if people hate my guts; I assume most of them do

The important question is whether they are in a position to do anything about it. My affections, being concentrated over a few people, are not spread all over Hell in a vile attempt to placate sulky, worthless shits.”

"Demonstrators held the Torah and banners with statements in English, Hebrew and Farsi in support of Iran's nuclear negotiations with John Kerry and Neville Chamberlain, and performed mass religious ceremonies, Iranian PressTV reported"

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, on Monday claimed that his influence during the two rounds of talks had prevented an even worse deal from being signed. “The international pressure which we applied was partly successful and has led to a better result than what was originally planned - but this is still a bad deal," he said.

Ever wonder if Doug is ____________? No, because nobody cares. You can’t stand it that the Republican base doesn’t want meaningful debate, nor are they intellectually capable of understanding one. GOP politicians have become experts at manipulating a following of complete morons, and I don't expect that to change anytime soon.

Get used to it. It doesn’t much matter what Israel, Jewish lobbyists, or Lindsey Graham want. Following what turned out to be the absolute pointlessness of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (wars I initially supported), Americans have zero appetite for military involvement, particularly in the Middle East, that isn't explicitly and unquestionably for the purpose of self-defense. Let's not forget the key role Americans played in stopping Obama's insane plan to intervene militarily in Syria. Imagine the reaction if he attempted to do the same in Iran, unless he could prove -- as opposed to merely contend, no matter how solemnly -- that national security (of the United States, not of Israel) was very much at stake.Get used to it.

The government of Saudi Arabia put out a press release this morning, stating that although it might not be a perfect deal, it's an okay enough deal, and that they're in full support (paraphrasing, of course.)

Amateur hour...betrayed by their supervisor...property damage done, minimal...no deaths or injuries...To this date, no one is quite sure what Lavon had in mind...after being caught "fudging", Lavon resigned...The President of South Viet Nam was not assassinated by presidential order,,,There was no Francis Gary Powers...No Bay of Pigs...No Rosenbergs and a nasty execution...No Joe McCarthy raped by the press...No Kim Philby...No using NAZIs scientists to develop space program...No keeping secret the whereabouts of Adolph Eichmann, which was know to US and UK in 1953...etc etc etc

Just another day in the parliamentary democracy of Israel. Nothing new.

The Lavon Affair

An Israeli terrorist attack involving the bombing of the properties of two of Israel's key allies.

A false flag operation to force Britain to keep troops in Egypt.

A plot foiled when one Jewish agent blows himself up, is captured, and spills the beans.

Eight Jewish agents captured by Egypt and put on trial, two of which commit suicide.

Israeli defense minister resigns after nasty hearing where everyone tries to save his own as by blaming everyone else. As they say, victory has many fathers while failure is an orphan.

Israeli relations with the US set back for a good long time.

Heck, happens every day. Why worry about it? And besides, the good news. After denying their part in the operation for 5 decades, in 2005, Israel gave the surviving terrorists certificates of appreciation for their efforts on behalf of the state. Can deny it for decades but in the end just can't help bragging about it.

Funny, I saw an article saying the same thing happened with the crews of the PT boats that attacked the Liberty. happened in 2003 as I recall. Decorated for an unfortunate 'accident'. Real funny.

You have been wrong about the Liberty and you still are. As to Lavon, it was an embarrassment. The Egyptians were amused by the whole operation and were following the young Egyptian Jews from day "1" because their handler was a double agent.

You write that "one Jewish agent blows himself up". But you follow up by saying he was captured and gave up his associates. So, which is it? Palestinians "blow themselves up", usually taking scores of by standers with them. Our intrepid assassin was so proficient he singed himself. At the time of his accidental discharge an Egyptian firetruck was sitting in front of his target, as were Egyptian police - they knew he was coming.

The relationship with the US was cool at best at this time. If you are looking for an excuse for this antipathy, try the Suez Crisis of 1956, which pitted the US against France, Britain, and Israel. The cause was the same as Lavon, Nasser's threats to close of the canal and his shutting off access to the Red Sea to Israel (contrary to the international agreement).

If you think Lavon was a big deal, then it's a big deal to you. In the history of that time, it was a joke, the product of an obviously senile minister.

As to giving awards to those of questionable repute, Obama awarded Oprah with an Iron Cross last week (see the photo). Oprah believes that when white die out the world will be a better place. She knows that whites are racists.

Israel is going to go after Iran. It has learned a few things since Lavon. Countries have interests, remember?

The US government did not warm up to Israel until after the 1967 war. Israel did NOT use American equipment during the Six Day War.

Because some in the US government believed that Israel would be defeated early on (indeed, they wished for it) the US was not a supplier of military gear. After the massive defeat inflicted on the united Arabs (Israeli artillery was within range of Damascus) the US had to adopt a more realistic policy.

Isn’t it refreshing to see to see an American president working for America’s national interests? Netanyahu is the gift that keeps on giving and giving and giving. Netanyahu and AIPAC did a wonderful service for us all in the elections when he supported Romney. Now that Israeli obstructionism on the Iran deal has irritated nearly everyone (especially those that will speak their mind in private) and without the distraction of the phony Iranian nuclear threat, the World might turn its attention to the apartheid, land and water theft by Israel.

After Brett and I left you and H in Pamplona, we decided to head south and spent some time in Tangiers, but we were both drinking heavy and before we even left Basque country we were fighting. The farther south we travelled the worse it got and by the time we reached Valencia we had both said things that couldn’t be unsaid and I think we both knew that it was over. Brett was in a foul mood and we decided to head back to Paris.

While in Valencia, we stopped at a small café for some tapas and wine and that’s where we met the Catalonian. As we drank, I occasionally glanced at the bar and noticed him looking our way. Eventually, he sent us over some drinks and when I nodded he made his way over to our table. He introduced himself as Vincent Catalan. He was tall, fit, with dark eyes and a crooked smile. For some reason, I took an immediate dislike of him. Brett on the other hand smiled and blushed like a school girl as he laced his easy conversation with the occasional compliment.

Later, when we decided to head back to our room, Vincent mentioned he was heading north himself in the morning and asked if he could give us a ride as far as Barcelona. Before I could say anything, Brett had already accepted the invitation and was saying goodnight. In the room, the silence continued and we were both soon asleep.

The next day, we were all pretty hung over and it was almost noon before we left. I sat, slept, in the back seat while Brett rode in the front with Vincent. On one occasion, I woke and noticed Vincent’s eyes kept drifting over to Brett in the passenger seat. I closed my eyes and was soon back asleep. The Catalan drove like a madman and after a few hours we were in Barcelona.

I had Vincent drop Brett and me off at Guy’s place, you remember Guy, the runner for Le Monde. We made plans to meet Vincent later at a café he knew in the neighborhood. Guy wasn’t at the apartment but years ago he had shown me where he kept his spare key. We dropped our baggage in the apartment and Brett went to take a bath. When she finished she laid down for a nap. I finished off one of the bottles of wine we had purchased in Valencia. Later, when Brett woke and dressed, we headed for the café to meet Vincent.

The café was small but clean and they had a trio of musicians playing Basque music. As we sat at the table, the conversation eventually became two-sided. Brett and Vincent laughed and joked. I drank. I must have dozed off for when I woke Vincent and Brett were dancing. As they danced, he stroked her arm.

Just that simple caress set me off. I rose and moved across the floor. I grabbed Brett’s arm and turned to leave with her. The next thing I knew I was being helped up from the floor by the bartender and one of the patrons. Brett and Vincent were gone. I made my way back to Guy’s place but Brett wasn’t there. She had taken her bag as well as the last bottle of wine. There was no note. After a while, I located a half empty bottle of absinthe and drank.

According to the interim agreement regarding Iran's nuclear program that was reached this weekend in Geneva, not one centrifuge will be destroyed. Not one pound of enriched uranium will leave Iran. Not one American unjustly detained in Iran's notorious prisons will be released. But Iran will start to receive, in a matter of days, $7 billion in relief from international economics sanctions.

This appears to be an unfortunate case of history repeating itself. As happened with North Korea in 1994, fascination with the negotiation process has blinded American diplomats to the true nature of their negotiating partners. Substantive sanctions relief has been exchanged for vague promises that the growth of a nuclear program will be curbed. Press reports on that failed deal are ominously similar to what we are reading today:

"President Clinton on Tuesday approved a deal reached by U.S. negotiators in Geneva to stop North Korea's nuclear weapons program, saying the agreement ‘will make the United States, the Korean peninsula and the world safer'.... The accord, concluded Monday in Geneva, gives North Korea a series of economic and political benefits in exchange for promises to freeze and eventually dismantle its current nuclear facilities, which the CIA believes have been used to make the material for one to two nuclear weapons."

We all know how this story played out. North Korea lied, cheated, and stalled for time, all the while using the economic windfall from the United States to finance its nuclear program until it was ready to test a weapon in 2006.

Magnificent Ronald and the Founding Fathers of al Qaeda

“These gentlemen are the moral equivalents of America’s founding fathers.” — Ronald Reagan while introducing the Mujahideen leaders to media on the White house lawns (1985). During Reagan’s 8 years in power, the CIA secretly sent billions of dollars of military aid to the mujahedeen in Afghanistan in a US-supported jihad against the Soviet Union. We repeated the insanity with ISIS against Syria.